I enjoyed writing this ALOT!

[nilanjan.palit-ral2JQCrhuEAvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org (Palit, Nilanjan)]

> From: Grant M.
> Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2009 8:57 AM
> To: BLU Discussion Group
> Subject: I enjoyed writing this ALOT!
> 
> You could read it, couldn't you? It didn't hurt your eyes, did it? It
> wasn't friggen blinking, scrolling, or otherwise containing some sort of
> annoying 'feature' that the manufacturer thought was a proper way to
> display text. It's TEXT. I'm sending you TEXT! No images, no colors, no
> embedded music. It's JUST TEXT. HTML is for web pages and sales guys. If
> I want to convey a message, I can do it with just words.
> 
> Did I convey my ideas effectively in this message?

I like Unix, emacs and vi, so don't get me wrong. But I also don't believe in a 1-D, monochromatic world. Specifically, the human senses & particularly the eyes, can take in information simultaneously across multiple wavelengths, both literally and figuratively. So why restrict it to a b&w text only? Granted it can & does get abused (frequently :-( ), but a well placed bold/italic or a <code> font, especially when you are talking about technical stuff, can help the eye pick things up a lot quicker. Abuse of technology is rampant across the spectrum -- but that does not mean we should stop using it.

You make a good point about using proprietary software. I agree, but there's a lot of F/OSS software that can let you think more "colorfully" in the *NIX universe. Use it and enjoy it!

Before you respond, just think: even though you might be using text (vi/emacs), would you revert to monochromatic monitors and have all your xterms/consoles the same color? Right.

-Nilanjan